Konami appears to be giving the Metal Gear Solid series somewhat of a retail push. I found a nice little pamphlet for the series at my local Tsutaya today.

Have a look here:

The pamphlet highlights all things Metal Gear, with an emphasis on Metal Gear Solid 4. Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker gets just one page, but this is still a pretty big deal, as I believe it's the first time Konami has promoted the game at retail.

Notice the circular logo beneath Old Snake's face on the MGS4 cover page? That's the Game of the Year award logo from this year's Japan Game Awards event. MGS4 and Mario Kart Wii shared the award this year. In case you missed out in September, see Hideo Kojima receiving the award here.

The Peace Walker page also has a Japan Game Awards 2009 logo, only here it's for the Future Division. Kojima accepted the award for Peace Walker as well during a separate ceremony.

Konami's sudden Metal Gear Solid 4 promotional activities aren't limited to retail. This week's Famitsu has a two page ad for MGS4, highlighting both the Game of the Year award and the game's status as the top selling PS3 game in Japan.

I presume the renewed marketing is meant to draw in some of the PS3's newcomer buyers. The system has been on fire since the slimline release, and has a good chance of remaining the top console for the rest of the year.

Plus, if they want to market the game as being the top selling PS3 game, they'd better do so now. That's probably going to change in a little over month.